Not sure what their definition of "well rounded" is honestly.
My DS has thrived in music since he was in the 5th grade. Many awards, leadership as a captain, wind ensemble, marched for 4 yrs. High in the fine arts dept. and shown commitment and had a 2 yr leadership role.
Physically he has lettered 4 yrs in track and field, several metals and awards for the 800m, participated and won 2nd in age group in a triathlon, bmx racer for 6 yrs, ranked 20th in the nation, 2nd in state, swim team--shown commitment and is VERY physically fit.
Academically- 2 AP classes, 4 college classes (13 credits) , 3.8-3.9 gpa maintained for years., appointed to the National Honor Society and BETA Club--totally completed Chemistry, AP Physics and Calculus with A's---so pretty smart I think
Volunteers with special needs kids at school, swim coach for special Olympics state champs, church, Senate Page at the Atlanta Capital, assistant coordinator for the kids youth triathlon,-- has a heart and gives back to the community.
Meanwhile, held a part time job for 2 years as a life guard.
Again ACT scores were not the greatest though. What's stated online as the low score to apply, he did meet that though.
He attended AIM in 2014 at the age of 16 going into his jr. year of high school (oops)- So he has sat on this for two years and knew this is what he wanted to do. Apparently attending AIM is not weighted as much as one would think. (he showed leadership of his unit quite a bit on the eng. competition)
What he got out of AIM it was also suggested not to apply EA-- keep up your grades, involve yourself in sports--- but show commitment to what ever you do. Become a Leader, Captain, Co-Captain of something you are involved in. They wanted "well rounded". He did all that.
We were told that CGA preferred the candidate to walk in with Calculus completed, so he pushed, talked to his school and enrolled in college (duel enrollment) to graduate with what was stated. This is what he focused on after AIM.
If it's not in the cards, it's not in the cards..........yes, we are walking away scratching our heads though.........
as I am sure
many do if they don't get an appointment.
He will not re-apply- "their loss" he said. I think because he has NO idea what they are looking for (and you receive no feedback) and he made sure he positioned himself accordingly. He just wants to move on, hit college and military reserves now.
Posting this all as I know "I" went back to posts years prior to look at lists of potential candidates credentials and see how DS compared. So maybe this will help a potential candidate or his/her parents of c/o 2021 onward
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Good Luck everyone!